Agriculture Minister Commits to Food Security

(ZIZ News) – Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Eugene Hamilton has committed to strengthen food security in St. Kitts and Nevis, through a number of upcoming initiatives.

On Monday night, at a town hall meeting in Keys, Minister Hamilton said during his first week as minister his main focus was to provide relief for persons in agriculture.

According to Hamilton, one of the challenges he is addressing is how to help farmers whose crops are being damaged by roaming pigs.

He said, “There are those persons in Green Hill who are challenged by pigs causing havoc on their work and productivity. We are fortunate that we have a new P.S. (Permanent Secretary) in place who immediately visited those areas and is moving to address the problem there so that we can provide relief to those farmers in the Green Hill area.”

He said the Ministry of Agriculture is also looking at ways to control the monkey population and lessen the damage they do to crops.

“I have seen a proposal from a student from the Ministry of Agriculture; a proposal which focuses on reforestation of the hills which he suggests, in his thesis, would keep the monkeys in the hills,” he explained.

Minister Hamilton said monkeys pose a real threat to food security. He also said that the ministry is working towards a speedy solution.